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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512783">the betrayal paradox</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pxtrichor/pseuds/pxtrichor'>pxtrichor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Bad Boy Kim Mingyu, Betrayal, Flash Fic, Kissing, M/M, vocal team are bffs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:15:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512783</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pxtrichor/pseuds/pxtrichor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Joshua narrows his eyes. “Is this an intervention or something?”</p><p>“Come sit,” Seungkwan says.</p><p>Joshua glances at the others. Jeonghan’s face is stony. Jihoon is ice. Seokmin refuses to meet his eyes.</p><p>He sits.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Boo Seungkwan &amp; Hong Jisoo | Joshua &amp; Lee Jihoon | Woozi &amp; Lee Seokmin | DK &amp; Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo | Joshua &amp; Kim Mingyu, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Kim Mingyu, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, well that one's in the past so</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Challenge 2: Betrayal</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the betrayal paradox</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Their lips meet, and Joshua lets out a small exhale. Puts his arms around Mingyu’s neck, feels the other boy’s hands rest against his waist. Tilts his head up to counter Mingyu’s height, smiles as he parts his lips. His heart feels like a hummingbird, flighty and fun, and as the kiss deepens Joshua smooths a thumb over Mingyu’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The school bell rings, chime echoing throughout the fire escape. They break apart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have Physics next, so I’ll get going now,” Mingyu says. Joshua still has half his lunch period, but no one will notice he’s gone, so he’ll head back to class too. He waves to Mingyu as he descends the stairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua brushes a thumb over his lips. That was nice. He leaves the fire escape.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When he gets back to the empty class, his friends are (surprisingly) there. All four of them, sitting around a table in a semicircle, waiting for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua narrows his eyes. “Is this an intervention or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come sit,” Seungkwan says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua glances at the others. Jeonghan’s face is stony. Jihoon is ice. Seokmin refuses to meet his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It has come to our attention,” Seungkwan continues after an ominous pause, “That you have been, ah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>canoodling</span>
  </em>
  <span> with Kim Mingyu.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua freezes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>“We’ll both keep this a secret, okay?” Mingyu laughs. “Or else we’re both dead.”</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I haven’t been,” he lies. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chan says that he saw you making out in the fire escape,” Jeonghan says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chan’s a liar,” Joshua tries to say, but Jeonghan fixes him with a look so sharp the words come out hoarse, mauled by liar’s guilt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me the truth, Joshua.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Joshua shrugs, faux-nonchalant.  “So what if I did? It was just a kiss.” Or ten. He sends mental apologies to Mingyu for breaking their secrecy pact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you forgotten what he’s done?” Seungkwan says. “Forgotten who he is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Joshua says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Jeonghan says, honeyed tones dripping with venom. “Remember when Mingyu was super racist to Junhui and Minghao? Or when he was spreading rumors about Seungkwan and Hansol? Or when he was beating people up as a fun little extracurricular?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Joshua remembers Seungkwan crying over the phone. Remembers Soonyoung’s black eye. Remembers Mingyu’s stories of a broken home, whispered apologies, his well-kept promises to become a better person. It’s been a year. Joshua remembers.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua shrugs. “So? It was just a kiss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeonghan and Seungkwan swap a look, like </span>
  <em>
    <span>can you believe this guy?</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jihoon speaks up. His words are twisted with anger. “What the hell? How could you choose to date someone like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Joshua remembers Mingyu’s tears, too. Remembers his own.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua snaps. “What? It’s not like you guys really care that much, anyways. You’re just pissed off because you think Mingyu is this big, bad, evil that’s besmirching the honor of our friend group.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean,” Seokmin starts to say, but he’s cut off by Jeonghan’s uncharacteristically angry voice, his fist slamming against the table as he stands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t care? </span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t care? I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one who doesn’t care! You know what Mingyu’s done and you’re still defending him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Joshua remembers Jeonghan when they were younger. Radiant. Remembers warm hugs and playing under the summer sun. Remembers the cold of his back as he watched him walk away, unseen.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People change, Jeonghan. And I think you’re the perfect example - hey, remember when we promised to always stick by each other's side?” He laughs mirthlessly. “Where’s that now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t get mad at us for saying you dating Mingyu is betrayal,” Seungkwan stands too, but the rest of his point is interrupted as Joshua scoffs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I’m mad at you for just that? You’ve always been naive, Seungkwan. Don’t you think you guys were the ones who betrayed me first? Blowing me off, ignoring me constantly, going out on ‘friend group outings’ without ever asking if I wanted to join.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Joshua remembers when their group was five, their inside jokes, all the good memories.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Joshua knows how their group seems four now, remembers scrolling through their photos alone and wondering why none of them seemed to care anymore.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s your own fault,” Jihoon says. “You’re the one who’s withdrawn from the rest of us, you’re the one-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one?” He turns to Jihoon. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one. You can’t blame me for making myself scarce when you’ve never wanted me here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s-” Jihoon starts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You broke my heart, Jihoon. You gave up all your rights to decide who I get to kiss the moment we broke up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was mutual,” Jihoon says weakly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>let</span>
  </em>
  <span> you decide that,” Joshua can feel his eyes sting. “Because you never listen to me. You didn’t then and you don’t now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Joshua remembers Jihoon on their first date. Blushy and shy as Joshua threaded their fingers together. Joshua remembers their breakup, remembers trying to fix them over and over and over again until he just gave up. Joshua remembers, Joshua remembers, Joshua remembers.</span>
  </em>
  <span>)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeonghan and Seungkwan have gone silent. Seokmin has been silently crying for the last minute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua stands, turning to the group as a whole. “All of you have no place to decide who I do and do not get to kiss. You don’t get to claim I’m a traitor, you don’t get to call yourselves my friends until you act more like it. And you don’t get to tell people I’m dating Mingyu, because I’m not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua sees their faces drop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was kissing for fun. Mingyu and I are just friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He makes to leave the classroom, but before he goes he takes one last look at them. Jihoon, pale. Seokmin’s tears staining his cheeks pink. Jeonghan frozen in place. Seungkwan with regret written across his features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be back when class starts. Until then, think harder about who’s the real betrayer here. Because I feel pretty betrayed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he closes the door, he makes sure it slams.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
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